Polar Vortex Won't Hit Ontario As Badly As Last Year: Meteorologist

Don't despair, Ontarians: a polar vortex isn't expected to make this winter as bad as last year's.

While the Farmer's Almanac predicted central Canada would see an atrocious winter, Environment Canada meteorologist David Phillips doesn't think there's much to worry about.

There will be a polar vortex this year, but Phillips told Global News he doesn't expect it to stay around as long as it did last winter.

"Last year was a one-off," he said. "It was one of these things that was an outlier. They'll occur again. But the chances of them occurring again are very low."

A polar vortex is a pocket of chilly air, usually the coldest in the Northern hemisphere, says Accuweather.

It normally sits in polar regions but last year one came south and stuck around, creating the coldest November to March period Canadians had seen since Environment Canada started keeping records, The Toronto Star reported.

"The polar vortex moves around at times during the course of the winter, but rarely do you see it get pushed this far south," Accuweather meteorologist Brett Anderson said in January.

Temperatures in Ontario are expected to be near normal this winter, or maybe a couple of degrees below, the Star said.

And though Environment Canada hasn't yet released its official winter forecast (that happens Dec. 1), Phillips told the newspaper that residents can expect to see "more melting, a few more thaws and not that ice-age-cometh look and feel" — though he admitted he "wouldn't bet the family farm or the fishing fleet on it."

Which is more than can be said for Atlantic Canada, a region forecasted to see "heavy snow, rain and strong winds throughout the season."

Western Canada is primed to see a dry, mild winter. Snowfall should make for great skiing conditions early on in the season in British Columbia, but the weather is expected to be drier for the rest of the colder months.

Areas such as southern and western Alberta could enjoy less snowfall and winter temperatures that are slightly higher than normal, said Accuweather. They may also be windier.

A homeless man who wanted to be identified as John, tries to stay warm on a steam grate in Washington.

Project H.O.M.E. Outreach Response Worker Sam Santiago encourages Carl, a homeless man, to come in out of the cold in Philadelphia.

Prince, who is homeless, sits on a subway grate to keep warm on a frigid day in New York.

A homeless man steels himself against single-digit temperatures with blankets and a jet of warm air coming up from the McPhearson Square Metro station beneath the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington.

A homeless man bundled against the cold walks at McPherson Square as temperatures dipped into the single digits Fahrenheit and minus degrees with the wind chill in Washington.

Homeless men try to get sleep at a Metro station entrance in Washington.

A woman bundled against the cold walks past a homeless man in McPherson Square, Washington.

A homeless man bundled against the cold, tries to get some sleep at the Metro station in Washington.

A homeless man goes through the trash as temperatures dipped into the single digits in Washington.

Project H.O.M.E. Outreach Response Worker Sam Santiago, right, encourages Ramon Perez of Mexico who is homeless, to come in out of the cold in Philadelphia.

Michael Best, right, and others who identified themselves as homeless, use donated wood and a fire barrel to keep warm in Knoxville.

Nicholas Simmons, 20, of Greece, N.Y., left, warms himself on a steam grate with three homeless men by the Federal Trade Commission, just blocks from the Capitol, during frigid temperatures in Washington.

Simmons disappeared from his parents house in a small upstate New York town, leaving behind his wallet, cellphone and everything else. Four days later, an Associated Press photographer, looking for a way to illustrate unusually cold weather, took his picture as he warmed himself on a steam grate.

Four homeless men warm themselves on a steam grate by the Federal Trade Commission.

Nick warms himself on a steam grate with three other homeless men.

Victoria Morris, 28, panhandles in Portland, Maine, where the temperature at dusk was 7 degrees Fahrenheit. Morris, who is homeless, decided to seek shelter when she could no longer feel her toes.